Books

Give Willow Rosenberg a little power and she goes nuts.You loved it when she interrogated Jonathan in “Go Fish.” And remember the burbling when Snyder made her a teacher? These are the little bitty things that lead, in time, to Dark Willow.When “...

You all know we’re into some of the best of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer material now with this rewatch. We’re gasping for air after “Becoming,” and Faith, the Mayor, and all the goodies that make up the Season Three story arc are ahead. It’s...

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer S2 finale opens with a flashback to the land of TeeVee History, where the men are men and the pubs are Ye Olde. Back in these longago times we see Liam, the callow youth destined to become Angelus, out on a booze-up with a ...

Three episodes bridge the gap between “Passion” and the two-part finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s second season, and each has at least one foot in the past. “Killed by Death” explores a loss in Buffy’s childhood, while “I Only Have Ey...

The decoy villain phase of BtVS is over. Angelus is firmly established as the big bad secret ingredient of S2, and he’s made a few good cat-and-mouse moves since he lost his soul. He had a minor go at killing Willow in “Innocence” and a more seri...

The string of BtVS episodes that follow Angel’s loss of his soul—the second half of S2, in other words—are all about love. Last week we looked at “Phases,” wherein Willow and Oz move out of their un-holding pattern of chaste dating and into o...

It was Suzy McKee Charnas, author of the unforgettable werewolf story “Boobs,” who first pointed out—to me, anyway—that the werewolf is the most tragic of the classic horror monsters. It’s self-evident, once you consider it: they’re ordinar...

“Surprise” opens with a stake and a poof, when Buffy has a dream about Joyce breaking dishes and Dru killing Angel.The Angel part causes her to freak out, understandably enough, and the Slayer doesn’t waste any time checking that Angel is safe, s...

“Ted” and “Bad Eggs” are the kind of episodes that should have their own Jonathan Coulton anthems, don’t you think? (Actually, The Future Soon would almost do it for “Ted.” Is there a candidate for “Bad Eggs”?) They’re the stuff of ...

It’s Career Day at Sunnydale High, which for Buffy Summers means taking superfluous aptitude tests and getting her nose rubbed in bitter, bitter reality. She’s sixteen, all her peers are contemplating possible futures, and with her birthday on the ...